Recipes of the Week

So, I am doing a 6 week fitness challenge with some ladies in my ward. It has been really good for me to make exercise and healthy eating a priority, not to mention scripture study. Anyway, thanks to the fitness challenge and our generous neighbors with gardens and the awesomeness of Bountiful Baskets we are experimenting with a lot of new healthier recipes. Here are three that I fell in love with this week plus one old one that I wanted to pass along:
Balsamic Greenbeans
(I have made this twice, once with mushrooms and once without because I ran out. It was delicious both ways and I am betting you could roast a variety of different vegetables this way.)
This one is from Kalyn'sKitchen. Because of her copyright, I cant post the entire recipe here, but you can follow the link. Basically, you just shake your veggies in a bag with some balsamic vinegar and a little olive oil then bake for 20 minutes and sprinkle it with a little parmesan afterwards. So easy and so delicious!

Whole Wheat Pancakes that actually taste good from FifteenSpatulas.

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp vinegar* (white wine or apple cider)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• butter for greasing the griddle

I used the apple cider vingear and doubled the recipe. I topped mine with fresh fruit only. So good!

Fresh Salsa from Alton Brown
This is a basic salsa recipe, but I've found it to be the most consistently delicious and versatile. I've switched up what peppers go into it and I use half a bunch of cilantro, two green onions and am generous with the chili powder. I also forgo the olive oil- no need for the extra fat. Tasty every time.
6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 seeded and minced jalapenos, plus 2 roasted, skinned and chopped jalapenos
1 red bell pepper, fine dice
1/2 red onion, fine chopped
2 dry ancho chiles, seeded, cut into short strips and snipped into pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime, juiced
Chili powder, salt, and pepper, to taste
Fresh scallions, cilantro or parsley, to taste

This is not one I discovered this week, but it's a great easy dinner option.
Asian Stir-Fry from Bill Phillip's Eating for Life
I've made this a lot and it's great with any vegetables you have laying around. I've made it with beef, pork, chicken or vegetarian. It's just yummy.
8 oz spaghetti prepared according to package directions
1 lb lean meat cut into bite-sized pieces (you can also replace with cashews or just add more veggies)
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup lite soy sauce
cooking spray

Lightly coat skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Stir-fry red pepper flakes and garlic for one minute, then add meat. Stir fry meat until cooked through, or until middle is light pink if you are using steak then remove meat from pan and set aside.
Recoat skillet and add onion and celery, stir fry for 5 minutes then add cabbage and cook an additional 2 minutes.
Return meat to the skillet, add cooked spaghetti and soy sauce, mix until heated through.